The blogosphere has been on a serious dry spell of great Phineas Newborn Jr recordings, and I am here to change that. His rhythm was infallible, his sound was implacable, and his style was undeniable. Recently, I came across this video of a live performance of Lush Life which he featured on his album, A World of Piano!. 

His playing aside, I was also immediately enamored with the introductory turn of phrase in this video where he is described as performing "…the durable Billy Strayhorn melody…". What a wonderful setup to a beautiful performance. Please take a moment today and enjoy  the dulcet piano playing of Phineas Newborn Jr.

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A trailer has surfaced for Michael Rapaport's suddenly controversial A Tribe Called Quest documentary, Beats, Rhymes, and Life. A couple things to note here. First, Q-tip is by far one of my top 5 MC/producers ever, and ATCQ is untouchable, so I'm seeing this flick no matter what. Second, Tribe's beef here seems to be pretty technical and superficial, so I'm assuming the overall content will still be truthful and engaging. Lastly, why the fuck did Michael Rapaport, of all people, end up making this film?

The movie is set for limited release July 8 barring any delays.

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Just go ahead and read that title again. Oh, Sharon, you've found so many ways to my heart. I never thought I'd be deeply touched by the Fine Young Cannibals, but Sharon's vocals and slowed-down twang give this late 80's jam a surprising new twist. The video comes from the AV Club's Undercover series where they compile a list of songs and then have current artists choose one to cover (each only being covered once). It's a great series, this.

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The Avetts played a show in Pittsburgh last weekend that I was in the city for, but failed to actually go to. Argh. My friends tell me it was amazing and long and on top of that, they played a somewhat new song called "The Once And Future Carpenter" (formerly known as "Scared To Die"). It's sweet and catchy like 98% of the Avetts' catalogue and it has both brothers playing acoustic and trading singing duties.

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I've been a little bit obsessed with Darwin Deez's song "Bad Day" lately, and now I'm a little bit obsessed with the video. As everyone knows by now, I'm a sucker for music videos with animated text ("Fuck You", "All Of The Lights"), but this video might be the crown jewel. The pictures make the lyrics even funnier and the song even catchier.

I love Deez's voice and melodies. He sounds so lazy and off the wall, but it ends up being so endearing and addictive. He also has a great ability to use his goofiness as a means to pretty heartfelt songs. But, maybe the reason I actually love this video so much is because it reminds me of this absolute classic:

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I've been following Benjamin Francis Leftwich for some months now and I keep assuming at some point he'll release a track that isn't heartbreakingly beautiful. Jokes on me. I wasn't aware that any mere human had this many touching songs inside of them, but BFL keeps churning them out.

The video for his new song "Box of Stones" comes in support of his June 20th debut LP Last Smoke Before The Snow Storm. Pre-order it now from HMV and if you're in the first 1000, you'll get a signed slip case. Oh, and an amazing album.

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Hezekiah Jones – Borrowed Heart (Shaking Through Session)

Hezekiah Jones recently recorded a Shaking Through session with the good people at Weathervane Music and WXPN in Philadelphia. It also features guest curation from fellow PCC member Bruce Warren (WXPN and Some Velvet Blog). The feature spotlights the songwriting and recording process of independent musicmaking.

"Volume 2 Episode 4 features Hezekiah Jones, a collection of Philadelphia-area artists orbiting around the songwriting talents of one Raphael Cutrufello. Raph and company recorded "Borrowed Heart" over the course of a two-day recording session-a timeless and hauntingly beautiful song that syncs exactly with a scene from the 1935 classic, Bride of Frankenstein."

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Fort Frances has released a video for their slow-burning jam "Cities In Dust". It's a great song and the video features some mirror trickery and seizure-inducing montage quick cuts. Good stuff. Their album The Atlas is still available for free at their website.

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Tonight I'd like to share with you a video / song that has transfixed me: "California" by EMA.

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Gary Thomas is a jazz saxophone player who has helped to pioneer the instrument through a post Coltrane world. He is a musician of frightening talent, creativity, stature, and most importantly, work ethic.

I have a small arsenal of Gary Thomas practice habit stories that I hit my students with when they are being lazy. For instance: Gary Thomas only sleeps four hours a night and listens to his metronome while he cooks dinner.

In short, Gary Thomas is dominant musician who commands the room when he plays – it's almost scary. Today's video is a performance from 1993 alongside Jack DeJohnette (drummer) that begins with Gary knocking down the mic stand and ends with your jaw on the ground.

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